What to do if you have a Wow airline ticket
A Wow airplane on the tarmac of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris. The low-cost Icelandic airline announced that it will cease operations and cancel all flights. Credit: AFP / Getty Images / Joel Saget
Wow Air, the low-cost Icelandic carrier that gave us $99 fares from the United States to Iceland, has ceased flying, leaving thousands of customers holding worthless tickets. What do you do if you’re one of them?
— Call your credit card company immediately, assuming you paid with a credit card. That’s standard advice and also what Wow is advising on its website. Credit card companies are your champion if you have an issue, but there is often a 60-day window in which to seek that help.
“If you purchased your flight more than 60 days ago, your first move should be to find out if your card offers travel protection coverage that includes bankruptcy or insolvency as a covered event,” Arielle O’Shea, personal finance expert for NerdWallet, said in an email. “If it doesn’t, try disputing the charge online, then call the card issuer and explain the situation. They may be willing to work with you, given the circumstances.”
— If you bought travel insurance, also call to find out whether you are covered.
“The best chance consumers have for getting their money back hinges on whether they purchased travel insurance, or purchased their tickets with a credit card that offers travel insurance,” O’Shea said. “Travel insurance may cover financial insolvency or bankruptcy.
— If you booked with the travel app Hopper, you will be covered, the site has announced.
— If you booked with a travel agent, make that call a No. 1 priority.
— Check to see whether you can get a “rescue fare.” Icelandair is offering “discounted economy fares for stranded passengers en route to, from or through Iceland,” it announced. The fares are for those who are already traveling and have a Wow return ticket for between March 28 and April 11, its website said. It has set the price for those tickets at $100 to or from North America, which includes one carry-on bag of 23 pounds or less and one checked bag 50 pounds or less. Aer Lingus also is offering reduced economy fares to Wow customers flying between by April 11.
